Bad breath? Drink coffee
Photo: liquidlibrary
Israeli study shows coffee prevents bad breath
Researchers at Tel Aviv University find that compounds in coffee stymie activity of bacteria responsible for causing bad breath and effectively block it from developing
Can't do without your coffee in the morning? Now this morning habit has garnered support from the scientific community. A new study found that coffee is effective in preventing bad breath.
Prof. Mel Rosenberg from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine of Tel Aviv University has invested many years studying halitosis. Recently, he found that certain elements found in coffee effectively block the activity of bacteria that cause this unpleasant phenomenon and even succeed in preventing oral malodor all together. In the future, these active ingredients could be made into salves for treating bad breath.
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Currently, it is known that bad breath has many causes, including bacterial deposits on the tonsils and dental problems.
Prof. Rosenberg decided to examine the impact of coffee on bad breath. In a lab experiment in collaboration with researcher Yael Gov, saliva samples were mixed with coffee extracts of three different brands: Elite Coffee, Landwer Turkish Coffee, and Tasters' Choice. Lab results showed that all three types of coffee successfully slowed bacterial activity.
By using tools that measure the gas released by the bacteria, the researchers found a significant decrease in the release of gases that cause bad breath in their lab samples.
"The study findings refuted what I believed – that coffee with milk actually causes bad breath," said Prof. Rosenberg to Ynet. "In our studies, we found that all the types of coffee decreased the level of malodor in the lab samples. However, we still have yet to isolate the element in coffee that prevents malodor, so that in the future we perhaps will be able to add it to chewing gum, sucking candies, or salves for preventing halitosis."
